Method of and an apparatus for automatically compressing and banding a stack of articles

ABSTRACT

A stack of articles is fed forwardly along a path and a pair of banding or wrapper sheets are brought into engagement with stack. The stack is compressed between oppositely directed forces and ends of the two wrapping sheets are overlapped and joined to form an endless band about the articles. When the compressing forces are relieved, the articles are held in a compressed and stacked state by the band. Preferably, the stacks are compressed between a pair of endless, continuously moving belts; and individual wrapper sheets are severed from long supply webs prior to being joined into an endless band about a compressed stack.

United States Patent [19] Lee et al. 1 Jan. 16, 1973 54] METHOD OF ANDAN APPARATUS 3,440,796 4/!969 Harrison ..53 74 FOR AUTOMATICALLY3,327,449 6/1967 Hullhorst et al. 53/124 D X A 3,355,|66 l I967 Plumb.53/389 X STACK 0F ARTICLES FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS lnvemmsiCharles Lee; Warren Ful'becki 1,023,090 3/!966 Great Britain .53 124 (0both of Knoxville, Tenn.

[73] Assignee: International Paper Company, New Primary fg H YorkAttorney-Anderson, Luedeka, htch, Even & labin [22] Filed: March 8, 197157 ABSTRACT pp ,948 A stack of articles is fed forwardly along a pathand a pair of banding or wrapper sheets are brought into en- 4 gagementwith stack. The stack is compressed [52] U S Cl g gi g gii i betweenoppositely directed forces and ends of the [51] Int Cl B65b 13/20 twowrapping sheets are overlapped and joined to Field 4 C 124]) form anendless band about the articles. When the 53/l24 E R compressing forcesare relieved, the articles are held in a compressed and stacked state bythe band. Preferably, the stacks are compressed between a pair [56]References Cited of endless, continuously moving belts; and individualUNITED STATES PATENTS wrapper sheets are severed from long supply websprior to being joined into an endless band about a KOnaI'S A co npressedstack 2,765,838 10/1956 Brown ..S3/l24 C X 10 Claims, 7 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDJAH 16 I973 SHEET 2 OF 2 ATTYS.

m s 0 mif TSDN/M W MJW mw ww wm M METHOD OF AND AN APPARATUS FORAUTOMATICALLY COMPRESSING AND BANDING A STACK OF ARTICLES This inventionrelates to a method of and an apparatus for automatically compressingand banding an article or stack of articles.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,628, which is assigned to the assignee of thisapplication, an apparatus is disclosed for compressing articles such as,for example, cellulosic pads, creped tissues, and disposable diapers asthey move along a predetermined path between a pair of convergingcompressing belts. More particularly, the stack height is reduced aboutone half thereby decreasing the bulk of the articles to facilitatehandling, storage, transportation and to provide a uniform size forpackaging. This compressed stack is discharged into and between a pairof stationary holder jaws. A preformed band is manually telescoped onthe jaws, and then manually the stack of compressed articles andencompassing band are removed simultaneously from the holder jawswhereby the articles are free to expand into direct contact with theencircling band which holds the articles compressed.

The manual operations of telescoping the band on the jaws and removingthe articles and band from the jaws limit the speed of the bandingoperation and involve a labor cost. Thus, it is particularlyadvantageous to provide equipment for automatically compressing andbanding such articles as diapers at higher rates of speed and moreeconomically. Also, it is possible to reduce costs by substituting forthe preformed band, a band which is formed automatically from acontinuous web of material.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an automaticcompressing and banding apparatus of the foregoing kind.

' Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an apparatus for practicing themethod of the invention and embodying the novel features of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an infeedconveying means for use with theapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of a stack of articleswith wrapper sheets thereon prior to compression of the stack;

FIG. 4 illustrates a compressed and banded stack of articles;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of a web from which wrappingsheets are separated;

FIG. 6 illustrates a knife means for severing a wrapper sheet from aweb; and

FIG. 7 illustrates means for applying an adhesive to the-wrapper sheets.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention isembodied in an apparatus 11 for automatically compressing and banding astack 12 of flat stacked articles 13 such as disposable diapers,cellulosic pads, creped tissues or the like as the stack is conveyedcontinuously or substantially continuously along a predetermined path ata relatively high rate of speed. The preferred method practiced by theapparatus 11 includes the following steps: feeding the stack 12forwardly along a predetermined path as indicated by the directionalarrow in FIG. 1 feeding banding or wrapper sheets 14a and 14b to bejoined into an endless band 14 (FIG. 4) into position for engaging thestack, compressing the stack with oppositely acting forces and holdingthe stack compressed with wrapper sheets disposed thereon, over-lappingand joining ends of the wrapper sheets to form a continuous band aboutthe compressed stack of articles 12, and relieving the oppositelydirected forces holding the articles in a compressed state whereby thearticles are held in a compressed and banded state such as illustratedin FIG. 4. Thus, a stack of articles such as shown in FIG. 3 may haveits stack height reduced significantly and be quickly and automaticallybanded while continuously or substantially continuously moving throughthe apparatus 11.

The appearance of the stack is improved if the individual articles areall neatly aligned when banded. However, when articles such asdisposable diapers are received from a previous operation, theindividual articles within the stack may have longitudinally extendingsides 13a or transverse or end sides 13b misaligned or slightlystaggered. As will be explained in greater detail, the articles arealigned while the stack is being fed into position between a pair ofendless compression belts l9 and 20.

Also, to reduce the cost of the band, it is preferred that each wrappersheet 14a and 14b be severed from a continuous web 21 of bandingmaterial. The wrapper sheets 14a and 14b have adhesive or cohesiveadhering areas 22 and 23 (as best seen in FIG. 3) which are overlappedand pressed into adhering engagement with each other. The adhering areasmay be either cohesive strips located on the webs 21; or, as describedin a second embodiment of the invention, the wrapper sheets have anadhesive applied to the ends thereof as another operation of thecompressing and banding process. Also, as will be explained the wrappersheets 14a and 14b may be severed from a continuous web by means of apull thereon to separate the sheet from the web at a line ofperforations 26, a score line, or another kind of pre-weakened area; oralternatively a knife means may be provided to cut wrapper sheets fromthe webs. The feeding of the wrapper sheets is made in timedrelationship to the stack movement to assure registry therewith; and, tothis end, it is preferred that the wrapper sheets be conveyed by thecompressing belts and adhered thereto by a pressure differential as thewrapper sheets are brought into engagement with opposite sides of thestack.

Referring now in greater detail to individual elements of illustratedapparatus 1 1, a continuous stream of separated stacks 12 of diapersissue from a diaper making machine (not shown) and are brought intoposition at an inlet opening or mouth 31, as best seen in FIG. 2, of aninfeed conveyor means 33 which is driven in timed relationship to thediaper making machine either by having a drive directly attached to thediaper making machine or by having a separated drive adjusted to haveits speed coordinated with the speed of diaper stacks moving from aconveyor belt 32 into the inlet mouth 31 of the conveying means 33. Theinlet conveying means 33 serves not only to convey the diaper stacks tothe compression belts l9 and 20 but also is preferably formed so as toalign the longitudinally extending sides 13a and transverse ends 13b ofthe individual articles into vertical planes to provide neat stacks.

More specifically, the illustrated infeed conveying means 33 comprises ahorizontal, stationary dead plate 34, pusher means 35 and a pair ofendless bands in the form of chains 37 disposed on opposite sides of thepath of travel of an article stack 12 along the dead plate 34 andfurther comprises rear pushers 39 for pushing engagement with therearward ends 13b of the articles and side pushers 41 for pushingengagement with the longitudinally extending sides 13a of the articlesin the stack 12. The endless chains 37 are guided for movement betweenan idler sprocket 43 at the inlet end 31 of the conveying means and adrive sprocket 45 at a discharge end 51 of the infeed conveyor means.The chains 37 are guided along their respective forward runs to form aconverging inlet mouth at the inlet sprockets 43 and a divergingdischarge mouth at the drive sprockets 45. Intermediate the sprockets 43and 45, the chains 37 are guided along a straight line horizontal pathbetween an upstream and a downstream, smaller idler sprocket 47 and 49.

The side pushers 41 have a vertically extending wall 46 which extendsthe height of the stack 12 to abut each adjacent side of the articles inthe stack. As an aligned pair of side pushers move about the inletsprockets 43, they are carried along converging paths to abut first anysides of articles projecting outwardly. During the intermediate straightline movement the side pushers 41 have forced the articles into alignedpositions with their longitudinally extending sides 13a aligned inparallel, vertical planes with the respective vertical walls 46 of theside pushers.

The preferred pusher means 35 are shifted from an operative pushingposition to an inoperative release position to deposit each stack 12 onthe lower compression belt 19 for continued movement. To this end,stationary, arcuately shaped cams 53 are provided at the discharge endof the conveying means 33 to engage a cam follower roller 55 on each ofthe rear pushers 39 which comprises a pair of vertically spaced,pivotally mounted lever arms 57 pivoted on a vertical pivot pin 59attached to a bracket 61 fixed to the chain. The lever arms 57 are urgedby contractile springs 63 into an operative position to project into thespace between the inner runs of the chains 37 to abut the trailingrearward ends 13b of the articles. In this instance, the contractilesprings 63 have one end fixed to the lever arm and an opposite end fixedto an inner vertical side wall of the bracket 61 fixed to a chain 37.Each end pusher 39 is provided with a vertically extending bar 62 whichis joined to the upper and lower lever arms and has a flat verticalforward face to abut and push each article and thereby slide the stack12 forwardly on the underlying dead plate 34. Recapitulating, the rearpusher lever arms are normally biased by springs 63 into position toabut a stack 12 until a cam follower 55 thereon engages the cam 53 andpivots the lever arms outwardly from the stack, as shown at thedischarge end of the conveying means 33 whereby a neat stack 12 isshifted from the dead plate 34 to the continuously moving lowercompression belt l9.

The upper and lower wrapper sheets 14a and 14b are detached from upperand lower continuous webs 21 which are stripped from large supply rolls69. To sever the individual wrapper sheets 14a and 14b and to time theirmovement to be precisely positioned relative to the incoming stack 12, asensing means 71 in the form of a sonic detector having a sonic beamemitted by transmitter and received by a receiver is positioned todetect arrival of a stack 12 at a predetermined position such as whenthe stack is passing the sprockets 49 of the infeed conveyor means.Alternatively, an electric eye system or feeler switch may be used forthe sensing means 71. A signal generated upon the sensing of the stack12 is used to operate a selectively operable means 72 to detach thewrapper sheets from their continuous webs 21. As the wrapper sheets 14aand 14b are detached and fed in identical manners, a description of onewill sufiice for a description of the other; and common referencecharacters have been applied to similar elements.

Prior to sensing an incoming stack 12, a leading edge 73 of the lowercontinuous web 21 is stationary and is projecting upwardly from the nipof a pair of first or early feed rolls 75 for movement to a feed nipestablished between feed roll 79 and a forward idler roll 81 for thelower compression belt 19. The detection of the stack 12 by the sensingmeans 71 is used to energize electro, brake-clutch units 83 for each ofthe early feed rolls 75 to begin to turn these rolls to feed the web 21.Similar electro, brake-clutch units 85 are also provided for a second ordelayed set of second feed rolls 87 to cause them to also rotate to feeda lower portion of the web. As will be explained, the early and delayedsets of feed rolls feed the web at the same speed but are started andstopped at different times.

A line of perforations in the web 21 is disposed intermediate the earlyfeed rolls 75 and delayed feed rolls 87 and the web is slack betweenthese sets of feed rolls as the delayed set of feed rolls were operatedfor a short period of time after the first set of feed rolls werestopped. That is, the web accumulated between the sets of feed rolls isslightly longer than the spacing between their respective nips.Therefore, when the early set of feed rolls is first operated while theother delayed set of feed rolls are stationary, the slack is rapidlytaken up and the web is jerked with sufficient tensile force to separatethe wrapper sheet at the line of perforations between these sets of feedrolls.

The now discrete bottom wrapper sheet 14b is fed forward by the earlyfeed rolls 75 and away from the stationary, new leading edge of the web21 which is awaiting to be fed by the delayed set of feed rolls 87. Thedetached wrapper sheet 14b is fed by the early feed rolls 75 into thenip between the idler roller 79 and the compression belt roller 81, atwhich position, suction from a vacuum box 89 disposed beneath theforward end of the compression belt 19 becomes effective to adhere theleading end of the bottom wrapper sheet 14b to the bottom compressionbelt 19 to cause the same to follow the curvature of the mesh belt aboutthe roller 81 and to engage the incoming stack 12 which is nowsuperimposed thereon. Thus, the timing of wrapper sheet separation andspeed of the feed of the wrapper sheet is so correlated to the stackmovement from the sensing means 71 to a position over the compressionbelt 81 that the stack 12 is laid on the lower wrapper sheet 14b whilethe upper wrapper sheet 14a is directly overhead but spaced from the topof the stack 12. In this instance, the wrapper sheets 14a and 14b have alength less than that of the longitudinal length of the articles in thestack 12 and are preferably centered on the stack.

After separation of a sheet 14b, the new leading edge 73 of the web 21is fed upwardly by the delayed set of feed rolls 87 into the nip betweenthe early feed rolls 75. At this time the leading edge of the web isspaced from the trailing edge of the detached wrapper sheet 14b by agap; and as the leading end 73 moves upward from the nip of the earlyfeed rolls 75, it is sensed by a sensing means 91 in the form of anelectric eye system which then causes an electrical circuit to switchthe electric brake-clutch units 83 for the set of early feed rolls 75 toa braking position to halt further feed of the web 21 thereby.Alternatively, a sonic sensor system may be used for the sensing means91. A short period of time later, as determined by a timer or timingcircuit in the electrical circuit, the electrical brake-clutch units 85for the delayed feed rolls are actuated to a braking position to haltfurther feeding of the now slack web between these sets of feed rolls.When the delayed feed rolls stop, the perforated line for severing thenext wrapper sheet will then be positioned in a slack, slightly buckledportion of the web and positioned between the early feed rolls 75 anddelayed feed rolls 87.

Preferably, a length of the web 21 is temporarily stored for furnishingand feeding forwardly a number of wrapper sheets 14b before having toturn the large diameter supply roll 69 to unwind additional webtherefrom. In this instance, a temporary loop 93 is formed by a movabledancer roll 95 which is adapted to move between a first or full loopposition, such as is shown in solid lines in FIG. 1, and a minimum loopposition such as is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1. As the web 67 isfed forwardly by the slower feed rolls 87, the dancer roll 95 is pulledby the web, to the left as viewed in FIG. 1, against a spring forcewhich maintains a predetermined tension on the web 21. After a number ofwrapper sheets 14b have been detached, the dancer roll 95 will have beenmoved to the minimum loop limit position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1at which the dancer roll 95 operates a limit switch 96 to energize amotor drive means for turning the supply roller 69. In this instance,the motor drive includes an endless belt 97 which is driven to unwindadditional web from a supply roll 69 at a constant speed; and as the webunwinds a spring force pushes the dancer roller 95 to the right toexpand the size of the loop until the dancer roll reaches the otherlimit position at which a limit switch 99 is operated to stop the beltdrive 97 to prevent further unwinding of web material from the supplyroll 69. Alternatively, a timer may be used to cause the drive of theunwinding belt 97 to be maintained for a predetermined period of time inwhich to make the loop. Thus, it is not necessary to start and stop theturning of the supply roll 69 for each time that the wrapper sheet isdetached. This is preferred inasmuch as the supply roll has considerableinertia and would have to be started and stopped many times each minutefor high volume production runs.

The vacuum boxes 89 extend partially about the compression belt rollers81 and the latter have a central grooved portion to receive the arcuateportion of the vacuum box 81 to permit a pressure differential to beestablished across leading edges of the wrapper sheets so that they areadhered to the meshed compression belts to travel therewith withoutslipping or sliding thereon. Thus, the wrapper sheets 14a and 14b aremaintained in registry with each incoming stack 12 of articles. Thevacuum boxes 89 extend along the compression belts for a sufficientdistance to assure that a stack 12 of only minimal height will beundergoing compression before the wrapper sheets are released from thepressure differential with the compressed articles holding the wrappersheets against the upper and lower compression belts l9 and 21.

The lower compression belt 19 is a meshed belt which moves along asubstantially horizontal run across a supporting dead plate (not shown)to its discharge end at which is a rearward drive roller 101. From itsdrive roller 101 the compression belt travels downwardly and rearwardlyto an idler roller 103 and then rearwardly to the forward idler roller81. The upper compression belt 20 travels downwardly and forwardly alongan inclined path from its forward idler roller 81 with the upper wrappersheet 14a being held thereon and spaced above the top article of thestack 12 until the stack moves inwardly of its roller 81. The uppercompression belt 20 is also driven by a drive roller 101 and has anidler roller 103 in its return run to the forward roller 81. The uppercompression belt 20 is also backed by a stationary dead plate (notshown) along its forward run and the stack height is gradually andcontinually reduced until a minimum stack height is obtained at a fixedguide 102 which holds the upper compression belt for travel along astraight line path of movement to its driving roller 101 and through thebanding station.

The speeds of the compression belts 19 and 20 are correlated so thatthere is no slipping or differential movement between the upper andlower articles in the stack during compression. Thus, the compressionbelts apply oppositely directed forces to the top and bottom of thestack to reduce the stack height while carrying the same forwardly.

At the folding station 15, lower folders in the form of curved plates109 engage the outwardly extending ends of the lower wrapping sheet 14band cam the same upwardly along cam surface 111 to generally verticalpositions along the longitudinally extending sides 13a of the stackedarticles with cohesive areas 23 thereon facing outwardly and positionedat about the center of the stack height. As illustrated in FIG. 3, thecompression belts l9 and 21 are wider than the wrapper sheets and thewrapper sheets are wider than articles. .The width of the wrapper sheetsis preferably equal and sufficient to provide over-lapped adhered endswhenthe band 14 is formed therefrom as seen in FIG. 4. The width of theupper and lower sheets may be different if desired. Shortly after thefolding of the lower wrapping sheet, ends of the upper wrapping sheetare folded inwardly and downwardly by an upper folder 1 13 in the formof a curved plate which earns the edges of the upper wrapper sheetdownwardly to position its cohesive areas 22 outwardly of but alignedwith the cohesive areas 23 on the lower wrapper sheet.

To assure a good tight adhesion against separation of the adhered endsof the wrapper sheets 14a and 14b, cohesive areas 22 and 23 are pressedtightly against each other by a pair of rotatable sealing rollers 115journaled to turn about vertically extending shafts 1 17. Thecompression rollers 115 are idlers, i.e., not driven in this instance,and are spaced to have the rolling peripheral surface thereon at adistance to force the over-lapped ends tightly against the verticallyand longitudinally extending sides of the stack 12. As the compressedand banded articles discharge from the compression belts 19 and 20 atthe discharge roller 101, the articles are held in banded and compressedstate by the now endless band thereabout formed by the joined wrappersheets 14a and 14b. The stack height may expand slightly from thatheight it has at discharge.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, the cost ofthe endless band may be further reduced by elimination of the printedcohesive areas 22 and 23 on the web 21 and by the substitution of means125, FIG. 7, for applying an adhesive onto the ends of at least onewrapper sheet immediately prior to the pressing of the overlapped endsof the wrapper sheets together to be bound by the applied adhesive whichmay be a glue or hot resinous plastic. In this embodiment of theinvention, the web 21 for the wrapper sheet may be a web of papermaterial or a plastic film without any adhesive or cohesive materialpreviously printed thereon.

As a further alternative to having perforations or other weakened areasin the web 21, the latter may be a continuous, uninterrupted web, i.e.,without such perforations or weakened areas and a knife means 126 may beused to sever the web at the location at which the perforations werelocated between the sets of feed rolls 75 and 87. The illustrated knifemeans 126 has a first blade 127 for cooperation with a second blade 129to sever a wrapper sheet from the web 21. By eliminating both theprinted cohesive areas and the perforations in sheet, the cost of thewrapping material may be used.

As an aid to understanding the invention, a brief review of theoperation of the illustrated apparatus will be given. A stack ofarticles such as disposable diapers are moved continuously forward froma diaper machine by an infeed conveyor means 33 which has a pair ofpusher means 35 movable to abut rear pushers 39 against the verticalends 13b of the stacked diapers while simultaneously the side pushers 41engage the longitudinally extending sides 13a of the articles and forcethe sides and ends of the articles into respective vertical planesthereby forming a neatly aligned stack.

The stack is pushed along the dead plate of themfeed conveyor means 33by the pusher means 35 and is discharged therefrom onto the lowercompressing belt 19. As the stack is discharging from the infeedconveyor means 33, a sensing means 71 senses the position of the stackand operates electro brake-clutch units 83 to operate the upper andlower sets of early feed rolls 75 which take up the slack in the web andexert sufficient tension forces on the webs 21 to separate wrappersheets 14a and 14b from the respective webs 21. The early feed rolls 75feed the wrapper sheets forwardly to the forward rollers 81 for therespective upper and lower compression belts 19 and 21 to which they areadhered by suction pressure differentials imparted by the vacuum boxes89. When the trailing ends of the separated wrapper sheets are separatedfrom the new leading ends of the webs projecting from the delayed feedrolls 87, the latter are turned with energization of their electrobrake-clutch units 85 to feed the new leading web end into and throughthe nip of the early feed rolls to be sensed by the sensing means 91which then actuates the brake-clutch units 83 to the braking position.After a short time delay, the brake-clutch units 85 are actuated to stoprotation of the delayed set of feed rolls 87 with slack now present inthe web between the sets of feed rolls and with a line of perforationsnow positioned between these sets of feed rolls.

The separated wrapper sheets 14a and 14b are aligned with the stack 12and move with the compression belts l9 and 21 forwardly while the upperwrapping sheet 14b is moved downwardly and forwardly into engagementwith the top of the stack whereupon the stack will be compressed as itis carried forwardly between the compression belts l9 and 21. As thestack is moving forwardly, the webs 21 are feeding forwardly be means ofthe slower feed rolls 87 until a sensing means senses the leading edge73 of each web 21 and stops further feeding movement by deenergizing theclutches for the feed rolls 87.

As the stack 12 moves into the folding station 15, it is now completelycompressed, e.g., to about one-half its original uncompressed height. Atthe folding station the wrapper ends are folded into the overlappedrelationship and the adhesive or cohesive areas are brought intoengagement by means such as the sealing rollers 115. Thus, thecompressed and banded stack is discharged from the apparatus 11.

The various drives for the compression belts 19 and 21, the infeedconveyor 33, and the sets of feed rolls 75 and 87 are preferably of thevariable speed kind to enable small and delicate adjustments of speeds,e.g., adjustment of the compression belts relative to one another and tothe infeed conveyor means 33, to prevent wrinkling or misalignment ofthe wrapper sheets 14a and 14b. Also, it is preferred to have adjustabletime delays in the electrical circuits used to operate the electrobrake-clutches for the sets of feed rolls 75 and 87 so that the timeperiod from the sensing of the stack by the sensing means 71 and thestack arrival to the juxtapose sheets may be synchronized. Also, thetime period between the operation of the feed rolls 75 and feed rolls 87is adjustable to control the slack and the size of the gap formedbetween the trailing end of a wrapper sheet and the newly formed leadingend 73 for the web 21.

From the foregoing it will be seen that stacks of articles may beautomatically banded and compressed without the use of preformed endlessbands or the manual labor used heretofore with the compressing andbanding operation disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,513,628. The speed ofbanding may be increased significantly from that of a manual operationand the cost per band itself may be reduced by the use of a continuousweb of banding material in the formation of the band during thecompressing process. The movement of the stack and of the wrapper sheetsis closely controlled and timed so that the wrapper sheets are centeredon the compressed stack and their fastened ends neatly aligned andadhered to each other to form a continuous neat appearing band andpackage stack.

While a preferred embodiment has been shown and described, it will beunderstood that there is no intent to limit the invention by suchdisclosure but, rather, it is intended to cover all modifications andalternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of compressing and banding a stack of compressible articlescomprising the steps of feeding the stack of articles forwardly along agiven path, conveying wrapper sheets on upper and lower compressionbelts while applying a pressure differential across at least the uppercompression belt to hold a wrapper sheet thereon for movement intoengagement with the top of a stack, moving the wrapper sheets intoengagement with the stack, compressing the stack with oppositely actingforces and holding the stack compressed with wrapper sheets disposedthereon, folding portions of the wrapper sheets into an overlappedrelationship and joining the overlapped ends by adhering the endstogether to form an endless band and releasing the oppositely directedforces whereby the band holds the articles in a compressed state in abanded stack.

2. A method of banding and compressing a vertical stack of articles withan endless band comprising the steps of: continuously feeding a stack ofcompressible articles forwardly along a given path, sensing the positionof the stack as it moves into a compressing and banding station,separating wrapper sheets from at least one continuous web of wrappermaterial, positioning a lower wrapper sheet beneath the stack and anupper wrapper sheet on top of the stack, compressing the stack ofarticles to reduce the height of the stack, folding the ends of thelower wrapper sheet upwardly to and about the sides of the stack andfolding the ends of the upper sheet downwardly, overlapping and bondingthe ends of the wrapper sheets and applying pressure to cause thewrapper ends to adhere to each other to form the band, and releasingcompressing forces whereby the articles are held in a compressed statein the stack.

3. An apparatus for compressing and banding a stack of compressiblearticles comprising, means for conveying a stack of articles forwardlyalong a given path, means for moving wrapper sheets into engagement withthe stack, means for compressing the stack with the wrapper sheetsthereon and for moving the stack, means for bringing the ends of thewrapper sheets together for causing the same to be joined and thereby tohold the articles in a compressed state, said means for compressing thestack comprising a pair of endless, air permeable belts which compressthe stack therebetween while moving the same forwardly along said pathwhereby a pressure differential established across at least one of saidair permeable belts holds an associated wrapper sheet against movementrelative thereto while moving the same into engagement with said stackof articles.

4. An apparatus for compressing and banding a stack of compressiblearticles comprising, means for conveying a stack of articles forwardlyalong a given path, means for moving wrapper sheets into engagement withthe stack, means for compressing the stack with the wrapper sheetsthereon and for moving the stack, means for bringing the ends of thewrapper sheets together for causing the same to be joined and thereby tohold the articles in a compressed state, means for supporting andunwinding a web of wrapper material from a supply roll, means forsevering individual wrapper sheets from said web of wrapper material forapplication to said stack in timed relationship to the movement of saidstack along said path, said means for severing wrapper sheets from saidweb including first and second sets of feed rolls spaced longitudinallyalong said web for feeding said wrapper sheet and said web, said webhaving weakened areas therein for separating upon the application ofsaid tensile forces to said web when said web is in the nip of both saidfirst and second sets of feed rolls, means for sensing an incoming stackfor compression, means operable by said sensing means to cause saidfirst and second sets of feed rolls to feed said web and to sever awrapper sheet from said web, and means for sensing movement of said weband for positioning another weakened area between said first and secondsets of feed rolls for separation with the next feeding operation of thesets of feed rolls.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4 including selectivelyoperable means for unwinding said web from said supply roll andtensioned control means associated with said web to operate saidselectively operable means to unwind said web from said supply roll.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said tensionedcontrol means includes a dancer roll movable between a first limitposition to cause said selectively operable means to unwind further weband another limit position at which the unwinding of said web isterminated.

7. An apparatus for compressing and banding a stack of compressiblearticles comprising, means for conveying a stack of articles forwardlyalong a given path, means for moving wrapper sheets into engagement withthe stack, means for compressing the stack with the wrapper sheetsthereon and for moving the stack, means for bringing the ends of thewrapper sheets together for causing the same to be joined and thereby tohold the articles in a compressed state, and aligning means for aligningsides of said articles in said stack prior to compression thereof, saidaligning means including end pushers for pushing against rearward sidesof said articles and side pushers for pushing against the longitudinallyextending sides of said articles.

8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 7 including a pair of endlessbands positioned along opposite sides of said path of travel for saidstack, said endless bands carrying said end pushers and said sidepushers into engagement with said stack for moving the stack along saidpath of travel.

9. An apparatus for compressing and banding a vertical stack ofdisposable diapers, said apparatus comprising aninfeed conveying andarticle aligning means having a pair of endless belts between which thestack of diapers are moved along a predetermined substantiallyhorizontal path of movement, pushers carried by said endless bands formovement into engagement with the stack to push the same into alignmentwhile being conveyed along said path, means for sensing the movement ofsaid stack into position for receiving wrapper sheets, a means operableby said sensing means to separate an upper and lower wrapper sheet fromcontinuous web of wrapper material, an upper and lower continuous airpermeable compression belt for compressing the stack materials to bondtogether the ends of the upper and lower wrapper sheets, said endlesscompression belts discharging said compressed and banded diapers.

10. An apparatus in accordance with claim 9 in which said means forseparating said sheets comprises first and second sets of spaced feedrolls with said first set of feed rolls operable to apply a tensionforce to said web held by said second set of feed rolls therebyseparating the web at a predetermined weakened area 0 between said setsof feed rolls.

1. A method of compressing and banding a stack of compressible articlescomprising the steps of feeding the stack of articles forwardly along agiven path, conveying wrapper sheets on upper and lower compressionbelts while applying a pressure differential across at least the uppercompression belt to hold a wrapper sheet thereon for movement intoengagement with the top of a stack, moving the wrapper sheets intoengagement with the stack, compressing the stack with oppositely actingforces and holding the stack compressed with wrapper sheets disposedthereon, folding portions of the wrapper sheets into an overlappedrelationship and joining the overlapped ends by adhering the endstogether to form an endless band and releasing the oppositely directedforces whereby the band holds the articles in a compressed state in abanded stack.
 2. A method of banding and compressing a vertical stack ofarticles with an endless band comprising the steps of: continuouslyfeeding a stack of compressible articles forwardly along a given path,sensing the position of the stack as it moves into a compressing andbanding station, separating wrapper sheets from at least one continuousweb of wrapper material, positioning a lower wrapper sheet beneath thestack and an upper wrapper sheet on top of the stack, compressing thestack of articles to reduce the height of the stack, folding the ends ofthe lower wrapper sheet upwardly to and about the sides of the stack andfolding the ends of the upper sheet downwardly, overlapping and bondingthe ends of the wrapper sheets and applying pressure to cause thewrapper ends to adhere to each other to form the band, and releasingcompressing forces whereby the articles are held in a compressed statein the stack.
 3. An apparatus for compressing and banding a stack ofcompressible articles comprising, means for conveying a stack ofarticles forwardly along a given path, means for moving wrapper sheetsinto engagement with the stack, means for compressing the stack with thewrapper sheets thereon and for moving the stack, means for bringing theends of the wrapper sheets together for causing the same to be joinedand thereby to hold the articles in a compressed state, said means forcompressing the stack comprising a pair of endless, air permeable beltswhich compress the stack therebetween while moving the same forwardlyalong said path whereby a pressure differential established across atleast one of said air permeable belts holds an associated wrapper sheetagainst movement relative thereto while moving the same into engagementwith said stack of articles.
 4. An apparatus for compressing and bandinga stack of compressible articles comprising, means for conveying a stackof articles forwardly along a given path, means for moving wrappersheets into engagement with the stack, means for compressing the stackwith the wrapper sheets thereon and for moving the stack, means forbringing the ends of the wrapper sheets together for causing the same tobe joinEd and thereby to hold the articles in a compressed state, meansfor supporting and unwinding a web of wrapper material from a supplyroll, means for severing individual wrapper sheets from said web ofwrapper material for application to said stack in timed relationship tothe movement of said stack along said path, said means for severingwrapper sheets from said web including first and second sets of feedrolls spaced longitudinally along said web for feeding said wrappersheet and said web, said web having weakened areas therein forseparating upon the application of said tensile forces to said web whensaid web is in the nip of both said first and second sets of feed rolls,means for sensing an incoming stack for compression, means operable bysaid sensing means to cause said first and second sets of feed rolls tofeed said web and to sever a wrapper sheet from said web, and means forsensing movement of said web and for positioning another weakened areabetween said first and second sets of feed rolls for separation with thenext feeding operation of the sets of feed rolls.
 5. An apparatus inaccordance with claim 4 including selectively operable means forunwinding said web from said supply roll and tensioned control meansassociated with said web to operate said selectively operable means tounwind said web from said supply roll.
 6. An apparatus in accordancewith claim 5 in which said tensioned control means includes a dancerroll movable between a first limit position to cause said selectivelyoperable means to unwind further web and another limit position at whichthe unwinding of said web is terminated.
 7. An apparatus for compressingand banding a stack of compressible articles comprising, means forconveying a stack of articles forwardly along a given path, means formoving wrapper sheets into engagement with the stack, means forcompressing the stack with the wrapper sheets thereon and for moving thestack, means for bringing the ends of the wrapper sheets together forcausing the same to be joined and thereby to hold the articles in acompressed state, and aligning means for aligning sides of said articlesin said stack prior to compression thereof, said aligning meansincluding end pushers for pushing against rearward sides of saidarticles and side pushers for pushing against the longitudinallyextending sides of said articles.
 8. An apparatus in accordance withclaim 7 including a pair of endless bands positioned along oppositesides of said path of travel for said stack, said endless bands carryingsaid end pushers and said side pushers into engagement with said stackfor moving the stack along said path of travel.
 9. An apparatus forcompressing and banding a vertical stack of disposable diapers, saidapparatus comprising an infeed conveying and article aligning meanshaving a pair of endless belts between which the stack of diapers aremoved along a predetermined substantially horizontal path of movement,pushers carried by said endless bands for movement into engagement withthe stack to push the same into alignment while being conveyed alongsaid path, means for sensing the movement of said stack into positionfor receiving wrapper sheets, a means operable by said sensing means toseparate an upper and lower wrapper sheet from continuous web of wrappermaterial, an upper and lower continuous air permeable compression beltfor compressing the stack while conveying the same forwardly along saidpath, means for providing a pressure differential across a portion ofsaid compression belts to cause the respective wrapper sheets to adherethereto and to travel in timed relationship to the travel of said stack,said compression belts holding said wrapper sheets in engagement withsaid upper and lower disposable diapers in said stack while compressingthe same to the maximum extent, means for folding ends of the upper andlower wrapper sheets into overlapped positions, and means for pressingthe overlapped ends to cause adhesive materials to bond together theends of the upper and lower wrapper sheets, said endless compressionbelts discharging said compressed and banded diapers.
 10. An apparatusin accordance with claim 9 in which said means for separating saidsheets comprises first and second sets of spaced feed rolls with saidfirst set of feed rolls operable to apply a tension force to said webheld by said second set of feed rolls thereby separating the web at apredetermined weakened area between said sets of feed rolls.